Givenchy man ( gents fashion )

Has the Givenchy man become a (fashion victim ) of his own instant success?

Givenchy! From womenswear to accessories to menswear to couture, its become such a monstrously influential thing, inciting critics, editors, stylists and the mad-for-fashion crowd to near riot levels of adoration. It certainly makes one stop to ponder. What started as random FB sparring with beloved TI contributor Louis (a/k/a Tricky Maus), swelled into his very insightful analysis of the Givenchy menswear ethos, a precise excision so critically sharp it brought a whole world of sense to the sensation.

My dear Tricky Maus, has the Givenchy man become a (fashion victim ) of his own instant success?

No, not even in terms of the mythical “idealized consumer” that some use to define the success of a clothing line. Let's say he is a representation of the modern man, a combination of many different and contrasting sub-cultures, which has finally been realized through Riccardo Tisci’s singular vision into a comprehensible understanding, no longer abstract, in perfect sync with the times. The Trifecta that makes up his vision consists of Religion (Catholic), Street x Culture/High x Low (Hip Hop x Couture) and Plastic Gender (Men in Skirts, Women in Tough Tailoring). It’s a result of his slow but deliberate effort, with each consecutive show season, to create and push based on an emotional level.

The connectivity of his core ideals may not have been obvious in the beginning, but as each consecutive collection was presented after each season, the puzzle pieces fell into place, through repetition of both the emotional/abstract components and the consistency of physical aspects such as shihouettes, color schemes, patterns, and fabric choices.

The Givenchy Man (and Woman) is, as expressed by Tisci himself, Latin, Catholic, Masculine and Feminine, street yet cultured, a mass of contradictions that seem to make sense when presented through Tisci’s prism. Having grown up in a Southern Italian household, resoundingly Catholic, without an abundance of means, and raised by only his mother and sisters, we can see why there is always a religious, iconic, or monastic theme running through each collection, sometimes bordering on being overtly gothic. The color palette was usually dark, consisting of mostly black, sometimes punched with flashes of color, usually a very primal passionate shade of red. He also has included intense patterns,
animal prints, and graphics on t-shirts as hardcore as those worn by Nordic Death Metal or American Wigger Rock bands (Isane Clown Posse…).

There is also a very heavy reference to modern street culture formed on opposite sides of the “Pond” The London Post Punk street and club culture of the 1990’s, when he was in London, struggling as a as a shop assistant, then a student at St. Martin's living with Maria Carla Boscono (at the time of her short cropped 60’s bowl cut and super thin boyish body), perhaps gave him his first taste of street and club culture. At that time, there was also the blossoming of the UK Hip Hop/Trip Hop scene, with figures such as Neneh Cherry, Zoe Bedeaux, Judy Blame, Ray Petri, creating that uniquely British hybrid of NY Hip Hop and London Punk known as BUFFALO, which was indebted to Punk. From there, one could say that Tisci identified with modern Street culture, allowing him to be whole heartedly accepting and inspired by what was then a truly American product, Hip Hop – moreover NY Hip Hop, where it all started.

Let's say that Hip Hop is to America what Punk is to England. It’s a bit strange and incestuous that Punk lead to Buffalo which was influenced by Hip Hop, which in turn was influenced by Punk through Westwood and Malcom Mclaren. But this kind of mutation is exactly what makes Givenchy so amazing right now…that all these seemingly separate ideas could be joined, compared and contrasted, and then accepted into a completely new idea, a sum of it’s parts.Not to digress, let’s look at to me are obvious Old School Hip Hop references (Shout out to Jamal \Shabazz “Back in the Day”) and the more modern West Coast/Gangsta references within the F/W 2011 Collection.

 

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